In the beginning of time, the only being was solitary.  He lived alone and was like that for many long years, but he grew lonely.  In his loneliness he created other life, and thus it has been the nature of life to seek companionship.  But, what if a being’s companion is to be taken away?  Will that being be the same emotionally?  Will their heart withstand the pain of losing the one they have come to know and trust?

 Shino came up to the body of Mana slowly, his ears dropped back as his voice was low.  “Mana?”  As he called out to the one he had come to know as a sort of father to him, he got nothing in reply.  Shino’s eyes fell on the smile set on Mana’s face.  He couldn’t understand that, why Mana would have smiled just before he died?

 Coming up to Mana, Shino ran a hand through his hair, watching the few strands fall out of his fingers.  He moved his hands to the javelin closest to him, breaking the tip off angrily, then the next and the last.  He tossed the ends down to the burnt ground, his tears streaming down his face.  “Why did you have to do it Mana!?  You left me here alone!”

 Although it would have been a lot easer for Shino to break the ends, he moved fully against the front of Mana’s body, hugging it and pulling it off of the javelins.  The body leaned against Shino as he stepped back with it, his arms fully around it as he allowed himself to cry freely now, short sobs coming from him.

 Setting Mana down, Shino looked at his cheeks.  They had just barely began to lose their color, his skin going pale as he was slowly losing his warmth.  Looking down to the smile, Shino wiped away his tears.  “Mana, I don’t want to be alone, I don’t know what to do with out you.  Why did you have to come here?”

 As his questions went unanswered, Shino brought the body close to his, holding Mana’s head in his hand to his shoulder as his other hand rest on his back.   He set the body down, looking upon Mana’s face.  Shino lowered down, gently setting a light kiss on Mana’s forehead.  He moved his hands behind Mana’s back, gripping his limp wings in them.  Opening the wings, he folded them over Mana’s body, crossing his arms over them to where his hands set on his abdomen.  This was the burial position given to any wardran who died a valiant death.

 The survivors had moved back two miles to get away from the now looming stench of the dead.  Shino kept his distance from the others, not finding one person from his clan or anyone else that he knew.  He had lost so much now, his clan, his father, his love and now, his guiding light, Mana.  He had never felt so alone in his life.

 Looking down, he put his arms around himself, sighing as he felt yet another tear roll down his cheek.  He had always been afraid to cry in front of Mana, but now it didn’t matter.  Mana was gone and so was Nessil.  He had lost so much in a single day.  Even if he did know that back in the valley, he had the few that remained behind, but still the dearest things to him were gone.

 He felt the cold like needles against his skin as the wind blew against him.  Despite the wind, he didn’t move though.  He didn’t care what damage the bitter coldness did to him, not anymore.  He shook his head, knocking off the bits of snow that collected in his hair, his wings opening up and folding over his face slightly to make a dome to protect him.  It became slightly warmer now, the wind no longer hitting him.  Of course, he could have always moved to the opposite side of the tree, but he couldn’t bring himself to moving.

 He felt his eyelids become heavy, his wings drooping as sleep tried to wrestle his consciousness away.  He jerked, his wings moving back into position swiftly as his eyes opened back up, but sleep pulled on his senses wanting him to fall into her blissful world.

 Shino awoke with a blinding light invading his dark eyes.  He closed his wings, his eyes adjusting to find himself surrounded by nothing but light.  He looked under him, the light seeming to ripple like water under his feet.

 Shino’s eyes darted around, the sound of distant footsteps echoing around him.  His ears lifted, shifting around madly to find the source of this sound, but none came to him.  As the footsteps became louder and faster, he felt a sudden chill in the air, its coldness stinging his skin.  He shivered, his arms wrapping around his body to at least help protect him.  His ears suddenly zoned in on the steps, their source seeming to be from behind him.  He turned around swiftly, his hair moving into his eyes momentarily before it fell away from his face.

 There, before him clad in golden armor stood the figure.  On the figure’s face was a warm smile as well as a large tattoo that seemed to be side ways fire moving from his ear to his cheek.

 Shino stepped back, the coldness around him disappearing.  “Who are you?” asked Shino as the figure stepped a bit closer to him.

 “I am… Myris.”

 Shino tilted his head to the side, a look of disbelief set on his face.  “How can I believe that you are Myris?”

 Myris chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest, “Some things take faith Shino Caelestis.”

 Shino blinked, “You know my full name?”

 Myris nodded slightly, “I know all of the names of every wardran in my creation.”

 Shino looked down, thinking for a moment, “Where’s Mana then?”

 Myris smiled, “Manifestation Iuvenesco is in the Tripudium Sanctum along with the others who perished in the war.”

 Shino thought for a few moments, leaving Myris watching him.  “Then, where am I?”

 Myris looked around, “This is the Somnium Limbo, a half way point for those going into the Tripudium Sanctum.”

 Shino gasped, “I’m dead?!”

 Myris uncrossed his arms, “Well, not exactly.  You see, your body is dying. Sleeping in the freezing cold isn’t good for you Shino Caelestis.  I made you wardran to be fighters, not snow birds.”

 Shino looked down, “I’m dying…”

 Myris nodded, “Yes you are DYING, that doesn’t make you dead yet.. And besides, someone wants to talk to you.”

 Shino looked up quickly, “Who?”

 Myris turned around, not answering as he began to walk off, “Follow me.”

 Shino walked behind him, his eyes downcast, watching the ripples of the light under him as both their footsteps echoed through the air.  Shino could hear the sound of laughter in the distance as the light slowly turned an ivory color, then a creamy white.  Looking up, he saw what could only be described as paradise.  The sky was pure blue, not a cloud to be seen, but it was warm, not hot.  The grass was of a healthy green as flowers bloomed in certain areas.  All around in this paradise were wardran of every size and clan.  Shino stopped, watching them as some relaxed and others sparred amongst themselves or other creatures.

 Myris continued walking, stopping at a figure who’s back was faced to Shino.  Myris spoke softly, Shino unable to hear it, but the figure turned around and stood up.  Myris stepped aside, allowing a large wardran to come to Shino.  His wings were pure white as his hair was long and his eyes hazel.  He looked much like Mana, but so much younger.  His horns were also fully grown, large ones that came up and made a ninety degree angle forward.  He stopped in front of Shino, setting his hand on Shino’s shoulder.  “Well, this is the afterlife… its so, non realistic, but I can get use to an eternity of this.”

 Shino looked into the wardran’s hazel eyes, his mind unsure of who this might be.  “Mana?”

 The wardran smiled slightly, “Why of course its me, who else would it be?”

 Shino looked him over quickly, amazed, “But, you’re so much younger.”

 Mana nodded, “Of course I am.. All of us here are.”

 Shino looked around, finding the commotion of all the others had ceased and they all had their eyes on him.  This made Shino feel uneasy as he looked down, then back to Mana.  “Is my grandfather here?”

 Mana looked back for a second, then turned his eyes to Shino, nodding.  “But Shino there is no time for you to meet old relatives, you must go back.”

 Shino shook his head, “Why should I?  I’m alone, I don’t want to try and be with out you!”

 Mana sighed, “It doesn’t matter Shino, you have to go back.  You shouldn’t die now and you aren’t, I asked Lord Myris to bring you here so I could say goodbye.”

 Shino closed his eyes, wanting to hold back the many tears that flooded his eyes, “Mana, I don’t know what to do without you.  Why did you have to face them?  Why did you have to leave me?”  Shino’s hands went into tight fists as he looked down, a few tears streaming down his cheek.

 “Oh?  Me, me, me that’s all I hear from you right now Shino.  What I did, I did for you.  I wanted you to live even if it meant my life.”

 Shino quickly wiped away a tear, looking up at Mana, “But it isn’t fair!”

 Mana crossed his arms over his chest, frowning slightly.  “Life isn’t fair.  It never has been, nor will it ever be.”

 Shino looked down, his eyes looking aside as he spoke softly.  “It should be.”

 Mana chuckled, his patience still standing despite Shino’s childish behavior.  “So, you’re saying you expected a utopia out of life?  Is that it?  If life was a utopia then there would be no death, no conflict and none of that nature.  Do you know what would happen?  Life would overrun our world, and it wouldn’t be able to support us anymore, and then we would all die anyways.  There is no such thing as a utopia, Shino, there never has been and there never will be.  You have to accept that.  Death is a part of life that will always be constant.  Yes, it sometimes is unfair that some of us leave the ones that we love behind.  I didn’t want to go, but when I understood that if I didn’t give my all, you and the others might not have made it.”

 Shino looked up slowly, “I… I know.”

 Mana nodded, “Good, but there’s a reason why I wanted you to come and it wasn’t to give you a speech.”  Mana stopped momentarily, taking in a deep breath, “Your father isn’t anywhere in the Sanctum.”

 Shino felt his heart flutter, “Wha, really?!”

 Mana nodded, “Yes, that means he’s still alive.  So before you go and say that there’s no one left, you got to know your father’s still out there.”

 Shino looked over to Myris, who was standing in a circle of small wardran, the young ones marveling over his composure.  “Lord Myris, do you know where my father is?”

 Myris stepped forward, the young children scattering from his feet.  “Arishawn Celestas?  His life force is faint.. But I know where he is.  He is on the New Continent, the place where my brother Ariketon has made a home for humans.”

 Shino looked to Mana, “The New Continent?  If Dad’s there then that means they’ve captured him!”

 Mana sighed, “Shino, are you going to go and get him?”

 Shino looked into Mana’s eyes quickly, “Of course, I don’t care how many of them there are!”

 Mana nodded, “Shino, if you are going then, I want you to remember everything I taught you.”  Shino nodded, looking up as Mana set his hands on his shoulders.  “Shino, you are much stronger than you think you are.  Don’t doubt yourself and you will make it.  I don’t want to see you in here till you’re as old as I am, understand?”  Shino nodded as a warm smile crossed Mana’s face.  “Good, now go.  Make us all proud.”  Hearing those words, Shino felt himself become sleepy, then everything went black.

 Shino awoke to see the slight storm had stopped, his wings covered in snow along with his hair.  He stood up slowly, shaking it off as he opened his wings.  Looking around, his eyes stopped on something laying in the snow.  Walking to the object, he made it out to be a sword.  Kneeling down, he ran his hand over the handle, gripping it slowly.  Lifting the sword up, he studied the blade, his eyes making out script engraved along the broad edge.  He stood up, knowing this could only be a gift from Myris.

 Taking in a deep breath, he looked up into the sky, letting it out slowly, whispering to the good spirits of his god.  “I.. Shall not let you down.”

 Shino moved the sword down, setting it into the sheath at his side.  Realizing what he had just done, Shino looked to his side, spotting the sheath, a chuckle escaping him.  He shook his head lightly, walking onwards to the north.

 Tatari stood on the cliff that over looked the only passage to the New Continent.  He took in a deep breath of air as Arigove coughed beside him.  Arigove moved his wrist in front of his mouth, looking to Tatari.  “How can you stand this horrid air?”

 Tatari smiled, “I’ve lived here a lot longer, I guess one gets use to the smells.”

 Arigove nodded, looking back down to the land.  “So, beyond this is the New Continent.  How long has it been here?”

 Tatari looked up into the darkened sky, “By the looks of it, one might guess hundreds of years, but would you believe its only been here a few years?”

 Arigove gasped, “Only a few?  But this is an entire continent!”

 Tatari nodded, “Yes it is, but we’re dealing with a god.  Ariketon has something in mind, I know it and you know it.  The only thing we can do now is be strong and know that evils like Ariketon will never destroy our people.”

 Arigove nodded, spotting something in the corner of his eye.  He moved his head to the right, catching the sight of something flying down the cliff, moving quickly over the land.  “Hey, who’s that?”

 Tatari looked down to the figure, blinking as he watched the black wings flap.  “Why, that looks like the young one that was traveling with the late Sir Manifestation… what was his name, Shino I believe.”

 Arigove’s eyes followed the young warrior, not knowing why he was taking it upon himself to go to the New Continent.

 Tatari looked down, sighing, “That kid, he has nothing left, not even a single living family member, now look at him, going to fight the big guys.”

 Arigove nodded, knowing what Shino was about to do could only be described as suicide.

 Shino’s wings flapped slowly, his body moving at its top speed as he sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter.  He looked over the land, all of it washed together into one blur of brown.  He brought his legs forward, coming to a small ledge as the land leaped straight into the air.  Shino guessed that this had to be the only way through.  He landed on the ledge, slowly spotting the cave entrance, stepping into it, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light quickly.

 He began to step into the cave, his eyes looking down to the path, then around to the walls.  He stopped, gazing onto the walls as something had caught his eye.  He set his hand on the wall, sliding it over the smooth surface, looking at what appeared to be pictures painted onto it.  He studied the images, making them out to be wardran.  He allowed his eyes to take in more light, wondering why the humans would paint such things on the walls.  As he continued to look at them, a single one caught his eye.  He moved closer, realizing he knew that certain wardran.  It was his fellow clan member who had fallen in battle.  He continued to look over the paintings, gasping as they were paintings of the wardran that had lost their lives.  How they were organized he didn’t know, but he continued to walk deeper inwards, finding his clan mates from both NeoAnnos and the Black Wing.  Soon, he stopped at Mana’s painting, his hand running over it as a tear fell along his cheek.  He closed his eyes, sighing as he missed his friend.  He allowed his hand to drop, his pace slow as if he walked in a trance, his eyes shifting along the paintings.  His eye was caught by two wardran holding each other in an embrace, a smile crossing his lips as he figured they were close relatives.

 He looked down, his eyes now watching his feet move against the stone floor, the sound of this echoing through the cave as he moved.  He stopped as he came to a fork, looking to the two smaller entrances, wondering which way to go now.  He felt a small breeze pull at his feathers, leading him to the right.  He moved on then, following the slight breeze like a beacon.  His eyes closed, finding something besides the wind guiding him.  He felt as if the wings of many others flapped beside him, causing him to walk a certain way.  It was as if every wardran flew past him all at one in a hurried wave.  His eyes opened, sighing as he looked upon a dead end.  Looking down, he mumbled some, wishing he didn’t follow his instincts.  As he began to turn, the feel of wings around him became more apparent, something seeming to force him.  He sighed, turning back around once more.  He stepped up to the wall, setting his hands on it, feeling a distinct crack run along it.  A smirk crossed his face as he cocked his fist back, moving it forward.  As his fist collided with the rock, it toppled over, showing the path once again.  Shaking his head, he stepped through the rubble, it suddenly becoming darker.  He blinked, feeling his eyes adjust once again, allowing him to see perfectly.

 Now he stopped, looking over the floor as there seemed to be an odd number of cracks running through it.  Frowning, he came as close as he could, slamming his tail into it, watching the floor crumble and fall into a pit, lined with spikes at the bottom.  He opened his wings, mumbling to himself, “So much for that defense tactic.”  His wings flapped slowly, allowing him to lift into the air over the pit.  He set his foot on the other side, landing softly as he made sure to close his wings before he continued onwards.  He began to walk again, his eyes looking over the walls as the paintings weren’t along here.  Instead there were markings, all seeming to lead in a certain direction.  His footsteps became slow as his ears perked up slightly, their sensitive nature picking up something.  Despite this, he didn’t stop nor speed up, but he only kept on going forward, listening to the odd sound as it move in his ears like the buzzing of a bee.

 The path had begun to grow narrow now, forcing Shino to slow his pace.  He found himself in a kind of tight rope walk as the path was surrounded by two large pits.  Still the buzzing remained in his ear, only to intensify with every step he took along the path.  His tail became ridged as he turned on the narrow path, the buzzing stopping with that instant.  His dark eyes looked about, narrowing slightly as his ears picked up something faint.  Like a blur, Shino jumped into the air, his wings expanding outwards, a few of his black feathers gliding through the air.  He flapped is wings harshly, keeping his body within the air as it slowly began to fall.  His eyes went downcast to where he once stood; nothing there.

 Shino landed gently back on the path, one foot up as he stood much like a stork, his arms to his side and his wings wide open.  Was he sensing things?  He knew he had felt something coming at him, but it didn’t seem like anything was there.  Well, it could have also passed by now.  Still, Shino stood his ground, his ears lifted high, swiveling around to capture even the slightest vibration in the air.  Everything was quiet though.  Only the soft sounds of his own breathing filled his alert ears and nothing else.  Slowly, Shino closed his wings, his foot lowering down as he turned back around.  He walked forward again, the soft steps of his boots echoing through the cave.

 As his foot touched the opposite side, something rammed his back, sending him forward onto his hands and knees.  He lifted his head, looking forward as the weight on his back suddenly disappeared.  He stood up quickly, looking around for whatever it was that had slammed into him.  Yet still, nothing seemed to be there.  He scowled. Whatever it was, it was able to evade his senses.  How could he have been unable to sense it coming up behind him?  It was hard enough to feel it’s presence even when it tried to slam him earlier, but this time, it was invisible.  As a wardran he should naturally be able to sense all life, good or evil.  So, why wouldn’t he be able to sense this thing?

 Before his mind could process any further thoughts, the buzzing sound came to his ears again, this time in front of him.  His body tensed as he moved his arms in front of him, forming an ‘x’ just as the thing slammed into him once again.  Shino winced, the force of the impact sliding him back slightly.  His dark eyes locked on the creature.  It appeared to be a giant lizard with insect like wings, but it’s skin was odd.  It was cold and silver, like the blade of a sword.  The creature leaped back, landing with a loud thud to the ground, a distorted sounding growl coming from it.  Shino growled in return, the sound rumbling through his throat as the creature backed up, looking as if it were going to leap again.  Shino’s muscles didn’t dare relax, his body leaning forward allowing his hand to set on the ground slowly.  The creature lunged forward, its claws moving forward as Shino slid to the right, the mass of the creature rushing past him.  It slid over the narrow bridge, its claws digging deep into the stone to keep it from falling.  It swayed, its large tail whipping around violently.

 Shino glared to it, watching it slowly.  He knew he could either run or fight it.  He pondered both, thinking quickly, his mind reaching a decision.  Despite his munch larger frame than from his childhood years, he leaned forward, his hands setting on the ground, his body leaping forward as he rushed on all fours.  He bound swiftly, hearing to the creature give chase behind him.  Its legs gave an odd whirl sound as it moved, its distorted grunts and growls shifting in with the echoes of Shino’s body rushing along the path.

 Shino gasped, the feel of a slight breeze brushing against his face.  There had to be an opening ahead, at least he cold take to the air if he were to escape.  He forced himself to pick up the pace, his legs feeling awkward as it has been quite awhile since they’ve moved like this.  Shino’s ears bent back, picking up the sounds of the creature suddenly accelerating too.  Growling, Shino came to a compete halt, the creature leaping over him and disappearing into the darkness.  Shino stood up straight, stepping forward as his foot neared the edge of something.  He looked down, finding what appeared to be a pit before him.  His ears pulled forward, filling with the sound of a constant buzz.  Shino opened his wings, leaping forward, flapping them quickly as he lifted upwards looking about for the creature.  Shino moved back, a metallic blur passing him, slamming into the rock above his head.  Stone rained down, narrowly missing Shino’s body and wings, but the creature was no where to be found.  He looked about, trying to at least spot the odd luster the creature’s body seemed to have, but the darkness kept it well hidden.  Only the sound of a slight whirl caught Shino’s ear, his head and body turning to look behind him.  There it was, it’s claws dug into the cracked stone, and heaps of its metallic skin seeming to hang from single pebbles imbedded on it’s frame.  The hinges to it’s jaw opened slowly, a long, black, vine shaped object streaming down, suddenly becoming ridged and pointed to Shino.  Shino tensed, his wings being the only part of his body still moving, flapping slowly and calmly to keep him in the air, random black feathers finding their way to the eternal darkness below.  Shino growled slowly, an odd scent invading his nostrils, pulling at his senses, sending a queasy feeling through him.  Just as the scent filled him, did golden flames shoot from the vine like tongue of the creature.  Unable to move back, Shino flapped his wings violently, moving forward as quickly as possible, the heat moving over his back, licking the tip of his tail.

 As Shino moved forward, his wings snapped closed, his body sliding painfully across the stone, coming to a stop a few yards from the pit.  He rolled onto his back, lifting his head up, the creature now moving towards him.  It’s claws remained dug deep into the ceiling of the cavern, a large chunk of it’s skin falling from it’s body with a loud clang.  Shino stood up slowly, his tail quickly becoming rigid.  He had no place to run now if the creature blew fire again.  His eyes fell on the vine like growth from it’s mouth, his eyes narrowing.  He knew that was the source, but he had to find a way to block it.  Crouching over, Shino set his hands on the stone, his legs slowly taking position to allow him to run.  Just as another jet of flames raced to Shino, he ran forward, leaping out and over the pit, his wings remaining closed.  His body soared for a moment, then gravity suddenly took a hold of him, his mass slowly starting to fall.  Just as he could hear the creature come to the edge of the pit, he opened his wings, letting the air hold him up.

Shino’s eyes kept on the movement, catching the broken appendages hanging over the creature’s back.  He guessed it could not fly any longer.  What a good guess that was too.  As the creature tried to move the tattered limbs, they crumpled and fell, but it still leaped into the air.

 Shino chuckled as he landed to the bottom of the pit, his eyes looking over the crumpled heap of the creature.  It obviously didn’t know that it couldn’t fly without it’s wings.  It has to be a creation of Ariketon if its that stupid.  Thought Shino to himself, slowly turning away from it.

 Shino’s coal orbs searched around, finding a small entrance, blessed by twilight.  He moved to it, feeling the coolness of the air blow against his face.  It called to him, beckoning to find his freedom to rescue the one who sired him.

 He pushed out against the rocks that blocked the way, taking his first steps onto the barren land.  For as far as his eye could see, Shino saw nothing but the chromatic browns.  The land was barren and void of all life.  No birds flew over this area, save a few vultures who searched for a nonexistent scrap of rotten meat.

 From this, Shino began to wonder.  Why would Ariketon allow the sanctuary of his ultimate people to be so deprived?  It was very rare of a god to allow his people to go with out the bare necessities.  Yet, there was not a drop of crystal water, nor a blade of green grass.

 Just as Shino was about to lose thought on something being in this land, a single plume of smoke suddenly shown in the horizon.  It towered, being black as the shadows that infested the night.  It rose like an ashy column, invading the sky, threatening to take it into it’s kingdom of darkness.

 Now, Shino flew over all this.  He found the air difficult to breathe.  The smoke in the distance didn’t seem to be the only thing infesting it.  Every breath Shino took burned his throat and lungs.  His wings also seemed to sting, something else in the air pushing at his black feathers harshly.  The air was becoming obviously unbearable, so with one swift motion, Shino landed to the ground.

 His footsteps were even and slow.  Flight was nearly impossible here, he knew this.  The air was much easier to breathe down here.  Small animals leaped from his movements, their looks seeming to be like little bugs.  He chuckled as he watched them, careful not to step on any.

 Just as Shino was preparing to rest from what seemed to be a never-ending walk, he heard sounds in the distance.  It sounded like the voices of many, and perhaps some adults and some child.  He came up slowly to a hill, looking over it.  It was the caravan of people he had seen with Mana earlier.  He didn’t fear them.  He had no reason to, so he merely moved over the hill and approached them slowly.  The people’s eyes shot to him, women scrambling behind the men, holding their children to them defensively.  Murmurs rose from the crowd as the only armed men quickly came forward, swords drawn.  Shino’s head tilted to the side, blinking as he knew they would be easy to pass.

 From the crowd of people, a single man came forward, his sword held firmly.  “How could a creature of Myris make it to this holy land!?”

 Shino chuckled, looking about slowly.  “You call this holy land?  This isn’t much of a land to behold.  It’s dead and useless.  The earth seems salted… Ariketon lied.”

 The man growled, “Silence Myris scum, lord Ariketon would never lie.  There are lands here for us.  Away from your kind, away from the path of the other gods!”

 Shino shook his head.  Why would a god hide the beauty of the land that was made for his creation?  It didn’t seem natural of course.  If Ariketon created this land to be perfect, then it would be perfect, but it wasn’t.  For what he could see, miles and miles were nothing but dead and decayed land, and these new people also seemed sickly.  Their conditions seemed worse than that of the disease Myris plagued them with.  They too had seemed to be experiencing breathing problems and some even went into coughing fits.  Overall, they seemed pathetic and ragged.

 The man stepped forward, bringing the sword forward as he took a fighting stance.  “Be gone wardran, or all of us will kill you.”

 Shino shook his head, laughing slightly.  “You shall kill me?  I am not here to fight human.  I am here for one thing and it doesn’t concern you.  Move out of the way.”

 The man gave a grunt, shaking his head, “I will not let you pass wardran.  Either way, you will die, so just go back to your land.”

 Shino let out a chuckle, his wings opening slowly.  Despite the horrid air, he knew he wouldn’t have to fly for long.  This band of humans were nothing compared to his state of health.  He flapped his wings hard, allowing the air to push him up, kicking up dust and dead grass into the faces of the people.  He could hear ragged lungs strive for clean air below him, his body lifting higher.  Finally, he moved forward, watching a few of those still in health chase him till they could no longer run.

 Dropping to the ground again, Shino went back to all fours.  The plume of black smoke long since faded to the left of him as he now found himself traveling east.  He did not know why he ventured there, but he felt his instincts pull him.  It wasn’t a long run anyhow, for just after a few minutes of a straight dash, did a large structure come into view.

 Shino came to a halt, looking over it with his head tilted to the side.  It looked like the rare structures that had been in NeoAnnos, yet much larger.  It’s top was well over the clouds and it’s base had yet to be seen.  Curious, Shino continued forward.  He kept an even pace, making sure not to tire himself out before he got there.

 Just after he had passed his last bare hill, Shino beheld the base of this odd creation.  It was large he could see this, but not only that, it was surrounded by a city of large proportions.  He could see many lights, yet he couldn’t understand how they had gotten fire to be perfectly red.  Moving forward, Shino just gazed in complete awe at the sight.  Many buildings surrounded the base of the large structure and rivers of black went around it, infested with small objects that seemed to move.

 Both excitement and anger soared through him.  Something was pulling Shino here and he wasn’t going to give up now.  With a quick burst of unknown energy, Shino found himself soaring through the air at top speeds.  He was determined to find out where his father was and what this place was.  Nothing was going to stop him, nothing at all.  That is everything but the sudden blur that knocked him suddenly back and into the ground.

 Shino gasped, getting up slowly as dirt fell from his wings, immense pain moving through his upper body.  With a slight growl, he lifted his head, looking over what had slammed him.  Before him was the very figure that he had left those years ago.  Clad in chains and the metallic prosthetics was Arishawn.  He stood hunched, the sectioned tail balancing him as he let out a metallic growl.

 “Father?!”  Shino started, stepping forward with a raised hand, “Father, its me, Shino.  I’ve come here to take you home.”

 “This is my home.”

 “No father, your home is with us, your clan.”

 “No!  I am the guardian of the city of Schicksal and the tower of Bitterkeit.”

 Shino couldn’t believe his ears.  He shook his head, stepping closer again, his hand almost able to touch his father’s shoulder.  “Father, you don’t know what you are saying.  This is the New Continent of Ariketon, our home is in the Old Continent of the Gods.  Father, you do not belong here.”  Shino took yet another step, his hand setting on his father’s broad shoulder.  “Father, lets go home.”

 Dark eyes snapped to the hand and with a quick movement, a balled fist slammed into Shino’s stomach, forcing him to double in pain.  Stepping back, Arishawn lifted a dragon like foot, pushing Shino back by his forehead, his back sliding against the dirt.

 Scrambling to his feet, Shino growled, yet he wasn’t about to do anything.  No matter what, that was his father, despite his looks and actions.  “Father, please, its me, Shino.”

 Despite the pleas, Arishawn stepped forward, the broken chains connected to a steel collar on his neck rattling with every movement.  His hand slid down, blades slowly protruding from his palms.  He came closer, the mechanical growl sounding loudly as he lowered his head slightly, staring straight into his son’s eyes.  “Your father died the moment he opened his eyes.  His body is my vessel to this world now wardran.  I am the very one you seek to destroy now.  I knew you were coming.”

 Shino stood once again, his hand quickly sliding to the hilt of his sword.  “You knew?  Who are you?!”

 Arishawn chuckled with the question, “Why, isn’t it clear wardran.  I am Ariketon.”

 With those very words did Ariketon rush forward, the blades crying for Shino’s skull.  Shino ducked quickly, feeling the blades pass the air above him.  With one quick movement, he unsheathed his sword, bringing the handle up, slamming it into the abdomen of Ariketon.  The god staggered back, but only lunged forward again.  Just this time, he stopped.  Surprise and shock filled his eyes as he looked down, finding the brilliant Myris-crafted blade shoved through him.  He gasped, falling to his knees, his essence quickly running from the body.

 Arishawn gave a gasp, looking down to the figure of his grown son, his arms falling around him.  “My son..”

 Shino looked up, his eyes filling with fear as he felt it, this was his father.  Pulling the blade from his body, he held his father’s fallen body into his arms, a new flood of tears rushing to his eyes.  “Father, I am so sorry.”

 “Nonsense, you did.. What you had to do..”  Arishawn nodded to this, leaning up, kissing his son’s forehead before he continued.  “You’ve grown wonderfully… and I can sense your power.  My son, I am.. Proud..”

 With those final words, Arishawn’s eyes came to a close, his body drawing in its final breath, but never releasing it.